forget remember when

i just came up with this idea about 75 seconds ago, and i want to try it out. so let me know what you think.

there are lots of bands that aren't very good. and there are even more bands that are occasionally okay. and, every once in a while, there's a band that isn't very good at all, but, for one song, they pull all the right elements together and something just clicks. forget remember when honors these songs, the single gem on an album that is overwhelmingly...okay. the first forget remember when song is "let's build a fire," the title track of +/-'s third album.


+/-, despite having a bitching name, are not very good. let's build a fire, released last year on (also excellently named) absolutely kosher records, is not a very good album. but, damn, the song is great. the way it starts always reminds me of "jaipur," by the mountain goats - the way it opens with a needle drop and hissy aural scratches. but, whereas john darnielle probably used a real LP for "jaipur," i think +/- are just using protools.

but that doesn't take anything away from the quality of the music. in fact, by relying on that effect, +/- give themselves a leg up, providing them with a horn section that creates the mood before being supplanted by the crashing entrance of guitars and drums. +/- is described as an electronic indie band, but there is little electronics in what i've heard. james baluyut, vocalist and primary songwriter, cradles the opening of "let's build a fire" tenderly, the horn melody old-timey and curious, making the listener want to hear more. once the downbeat rings in the rest of the cast, the song loses none of its allure, keeping its slight-swing feeling. the trumpet is featured prominently here, before the sound trickles back down to the end of the song. it ends like it began, with mock-vinyl pops and the velvet sound of a clarinet. "let's build a fire" is a great song.

enjoy: +/- - "let's build a fire" buy the entire album from absolutely kosher here.